ABSTRACT
The sonnets in Sir John Davies’s other parody, Ten Sonnets to Philomel, are even more like Shakespeare’s than those in Gulling Sonnets. That Shakespeare should think of Davies when dealing with the soul-body contrast of love was natural. The most convincing evidence of borrowings from Shakespeare in work published 1594 is that in Idea’s Mirrour. Shakespeare’s sonnet follows a logic inherent in itself, each part naturally related with other parts. As is his habit in the plays, Shakespeare opens the poem with a statement of his theme in colourings that give its character. The passion of Venus portrayed with gusto, by comparison throws light on Shakespeare’s restraint both in his sonnets and in his plays. The most relevant, and most interesting comparison between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe concerns Richard II and Edward II. Finally, Shakespeare let us know what he thought of Platonic friendship in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, where he presents it as extraordinary nonsense.
